Dream List Media

Do you dream of learning a foreign language as if it were your own?  Self-made linguist, Susanna Zaraysky, was the guest on July 7, where she shared tips from her new book, Language is Music.  This book is focused on making learning foreign languages fun, easy and affordable for anyone with a desire to communicate effectively with people around the world.

About Susanna Zaraysky:
Born with a sight disability, Susanna Zaraysky, developed a hypersensitivity to sound and learned to listen to language as she would music.  She has what you might call “an ear” for languages, having used music to successfully learn English, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Serbo-Croatian—all with excellent accents.  Susanna has lived in nine countries and has traveled to over fifty countries.  She is passionate about sharing her experience and belief that no matter one’s economic status or past language learning experience, anyone can be multilingual and see the world. For more information visit www.createyourworldbooks.com.

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Help Your Kids Achieve Their Dreams - PART 2

By Melissa Borghorst ©

Get Your Kids Dreaming
Start with a dream discussion about what your kids want to be when they grow up or what they want to do for fun.  Have them create their own dream list in a blank journal or in the journal that I published, Dream List for My Amazing Life, which gives a little more guidance than a blank journal.  A dream list is a great way to get the conversation started and to also see what your kid’s dreams are so you can support them and help them reach their dreams.

While we’re on the subject of dream lists, it is critical that you don’t squash their dreams.  It’s ok to let them dream.  Let me say that again.  It’s ok to let them dream.  If they come up with a dream that will put you in the poor house, don’t panic.  Instead of saying, you can’t do that because we don’t have money, work with them to come up with creative ideas to earn money.  As a teen, I dreamed of riding in a hot air balloon, but my parents didn’t have enough money.  So I got creative and ended up working for a hot air balloon company for a summer in exchange for a free ride. 

Tip:  Visit my blog www.DreamListOnline.com to find creative ideas to achieve your dreams for little or no money.

Another dream that kids often come up with is something totally outrageous…at least outrageous to us adults.  Remember, it’s ok to let them dream.  Think of all the amazing inventions created in the last century.  Back in the day, if you said you were building a giant contraption to take you to the moon, people would have thought you were crazy.  But guess what.  Someone did it and landed on the moon!  You never know if that “outrageous” dream, could turn out to be the start of the next technological revolution. 

What About Failure?
As parents, we want the best for our kids.  We hate to see them sad and let down if they don’t make the soccer team or don’t accomplish one of their dreams.  It hurts more to see our kids fail, than it does when we fail.  So a common question amongst parents is:  What do I do if they fail when going after their dream? 

The answer is, don’t let them give up!  Share with them the story of Michael Jordan.  In high school, he was kicked off the basketball team because he wasn’t good enough.  BUT he didn’t give up.  He practiced and practiced, and ended up being one of the most famous basketball players in history. 

At some point in our lives, we all fail.  But it’s not about the failure; it’s about getting back up and trying again.  Oprah once said that “failure is a stepping stone to greatness.”  This is so true!  There are thousands of stories like Michael Jordan’s.  So talk with your kids about failure and teach them the right attitude to achieve success.   

Tip:  Remind your kids of the story of The Little Engine That Could.  To this day, when I’m struggling with a dream, I still hear my Mom’s storytelling voice saying, I Think I Can! I Think I Can!  I Think I Can!

Come Up With a Plan
The next step is to break down your kid’s dreams into smaller steps and goals.  This is the roadmap to their dreams.  They need to learn how to get from point A to point B.  These goal planning skills will help them reach their dreams, and are critical for all aspects of life, especially in their careers and business. 
Below is one example using a method I call a Dream Tree.  Their dreams start at the base or root of the tree, while the smaller goals and steps branch off.  Try to break each dream into goals and steps that they can start accomplishing right away—no matter what age.

As your kids are accomplishing some of those smaller goals, they may change their minds.  It’s quite common for kids to realize that they don’t want to pursue a certain dream anymore after experiencing or learning about it. It’s perfectly ok if they change their mind!  The planning and action is the most important part, which can be used for countless dreams in the future.  This is also a great process to explore careers and interests BEFORE you spend all your money on college to later find out they changed their minds.

Tip:  If your teens are exploring careers, send them to www.DreamListRadio.com, where they can learn how to turn their passions and dreams into professional careers.  The site provides short interviews with guests who have exciting and unique careers, along with steps they need to take to make their career dreams come true.

Celebrate!
Each time your kids accomplish a goal or a dream, celebrate!  Make a big deal out of it, because it truly is a big deal.  Think of some fun things you can do to help celebrate their achievements.  It’s also important to document their accomplishments in their Dream List Journals.  This journal is not only a fun activity and a treasured keepsake, but it’s also a great tool to help build your kid’s confidence.  If they’ve accomplished a goal or dream in the past, surely they can do it again.

Make a Pledge
These were just a few tips to help you as parent, encourage and empower your kids to follow and achieve their dreams.  Now raise your right hand and repeat after me:

• I pledge to support my kids while they follow their passions and dreams.
• I promise to be their cheerleader along the way and to be there for them when they need a little encouragement.
• Most importantly, I promise to love my kids unconditionally—no matter what.

If you follow these steps, I guarantee that your kids will become more happy, fulfilled, successful and you’ll have a strong family bond that will last for years to come.

 Help Your Kids Achieve Their Dreams - PART 1

As parents, you want to see your kids happy, successful and out in the world achieving their dreams.  Here are a few tips to help you learn how to foster a positive and supportive environment, along with some things you should be doing—right now—to help your kids reach their dreams.

The first place you need to start is not with your kids.  You need to start with—YOU!

Start Dreaming
You are the role model for your kids.  If they see you dreaming, they’re going to start dreaming too.  Start by creating your own dream list of the places you want to visit, things you want to learn, people you want to meet, and anything else you can think of. 

Tip:  Visit my blog www.DreamListOnline.com or listen to one of my radio shows at www.DreamListRadio.com to get dream list ideas or to find success stories.

Over the years, we as adults are conditioned to push our dreams aside because we have to focus on our jobs or our families.  I 100% agree these things are important, BUT it doesn’t have to be one or the other.  You can achieve your dreams while raising a happy and healthy family.  By following some of your dreams, you may even create a stronger family bond.

There’s another thing that may have happened to you at some point in your life.  You were told to be realistic or you’re not allowed to dream.   If you didn’t have money to travel to Australia, you weren’t allowed to dream it.  Many of you have also been telling this to yourself.   Today is the day that you break this bad habit and break this harmful thought process.  It doesn’t hurt to dream, so give yourself permission to dream.

Start Achieving Your Dreams
Remember, you are the role model for your kids.  They need to see you pursuing and achieving some of your dreams.  This will give them the confidence that they too can achieve their dreams. 

Story:  When I was a kid, my Dad dreamed of running in a marathon.  One day he decided it was time to take action, so he slowly started training.  Before his runs, he would stretch and warm up, so of course I too had to stretch and warm up with him.  On his shorter runs, he would occasionally let me tag along.  So I would rush into my room to throw on my “running clothes” that consisted of grey sweat pants, my favorite sweatshirt covered with colorful hearts and puffy sleeves, and my fastest running shoes that were purple with a lightning bolt on the side.  My Dad always wore a sweatband on his head, so mimicking my Dad, I too wore a sweatband on my head. 

He soon began competing in short distance races, so my Mom and I would cheer on the sidelines.  Even though I wasn’t running, I’d still wear my “running clothes” and sweatband.  Then one day my Dad signed us up for a family fun run where I put my purple running shoes to the test.  Boy was that BIG time!  After the race, I announced to all my school friends that I was going to be an Olympic runner.  I was often found at recess racing the boys and anyone else who was up for the challenge.  I soon became the fastest kid in Aldridge Elementary School…or so I thought.  I have such fond memories of those days!  Seeing my Dad follow his dream, gave me the confidence and courage to pursue my own dreams—even to this day.

The moral of the story: Parents, start pursuing some of your dreams!  If you have a big dream, break it down into smaller goals so you won’t feel so overwhelmed.  By pursuing your dreams, you are going to give your kids the confidence and courage to follow their own dreams. 

Click here to read PART 2 of this article to see how you can help your kids.

Tap into Your Daydreams for Ideas and Motivation

By Guest Blogger----Amy Fries ©

Daydreams are not just wishful thinking —they are your nursery for ideas and your best mental state for tackling complex problems. Visionaries of every sort from Einstein to Walt Disney credit daydreams as the source of their moments of insight, and some of the most innovative companies in the world feature programs that give key employees the time and space to think creatively, i.e. daydream—Google offers a 20% program, 3M has a 15% program, and Gore & Associates (Gore-Tex, etc.) features “dabble time.”

While many of us can see the relationship between daydreaming and creativity in the arts and even science, we’ve been slower to come around to its usefulness in business. Say the word “visionary” however, and we understand how having a vision—a mental image or plan—can help someone start a breakthrough company or service. Well, a “vision” is just an upscale word for “daydream,” and “visionary” an upscale word for “daydreamer.”

Yes, I know. All the work and focus must follow to have an idea come to fruition. I am not against focusing in any way, shape, or form. But the original idea and the motivation to fulfill that idea are birthed in a daydreaming state, and we do our most creative problem solving when our mind wanders.

Why Daydreaming Is Your Most Creative State of Mind

• Recent studies using brain scans show that when daydreaming, we are using the most complex regions of the brain, tapping into stores of knowledge and experience unavailable when focused on only one thing.

• While daydreaming, we can envision—we can see things, people, and events in our mind’s eye. This enables you able to see the big picture, something you’re unable to do when locked in the tunnel vision of focus.

• The daydreaming mind is completely uncensored, which gives you the freedom to explore a wide, and sometimes wild, variety of options without an internal critic hovering.

• You are able to free-associate when daydreaming, making seemingly random connections, which in turn enable you to come up with creative solutions. I’m sure you’ve had the experience when you’re struggling to remember a name or word and you can’t get it despite focusing on it, but suddenly it will come back to you when you’re doing something off-task like taking out the garbage. That’s free association at work. In fact, the ability to make new and inventive associations, as we do in daydreaming state, is so valuable to creativity and to problem solving that computer scientists are incorporating the ability into software programs.

How to Jump Start Your Own Imagination
• First notice your daydreams and try to figure out your style and patterns. Take the quiz via the “link” section on my website www.DaydreamsAtWork.com or use the many questions and exercises in the book.
• Give yourself permission to daydream. The idea that daydreaming is wasteful or shameful is an old-school idea. Daydreaming is your most creative, visionary state of mind.
• Make the time and space to daydream. Don’t get so bogged down in your things-to-do list that you don’t have time for your thoughts to just wander.
• Explore your daydreams. If you can make some part of your daydreams happen, give it a try.  For example you can travel to some place you always daydreamed about. You could volunteer for a job that always sparked your curiosity. Use your daydreams to help give you direction.
• Use prompts like music, reading, traveling, or new experiences to spark new daydreams. Even daydreams can get stuck in a rut!

Author bio:  Amy Fries’s new book Daydreams at Work: Wake Up Your Creative Powers (Capital Books, 2009) shows you how to tap into your daydreams for ideas, energy, solutions, and motivation for both work and life. It’s filled with thought-provoking questions and exercises, and includes discussion guides geared for both book clubs and business groups. Amy is a respected writer and editor whose articles have been published in a variety of newspapers, magazines, and trade publications. In addition, Amy has written over 40 articles for AchieveSolutions.net and has taught writing and literature at George Mason University. To read more about the book or to contact Amy, visit her website: www.DaydreamsAtWork.com

Don't let the economy stop you from achieving your dreams. During this show, Melissa Borghorst will share tips and secrets to help you achieve your dreams in today's economy--with little or no $$.

About Melissa Borghorst:
Since her childhood, author, life coach and motivational speaker, Melissa Borghorst has been dreaming up fun and exciting things to accomplish in her lifetime.  By following a few simple steps and thinking outside the box, she has achieved extraordinary feats—many for free or for very little money: skydiving, riding in a hot air balloon, backpacking across Europe, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, singing, dancing and acting in a musical, and becoming an author and entrepreneur. Through Dream List Radio, her Dream List Photo Journals, workshops and seminars, her positive spirit and can-do approach has inspired audiences to follow and achieve their dreams.  For more information visit www.dreamlistmedia.com.

Title: Episode 2 -How to Travel the World For Free
Time: 01/20/2009 08:30 PM EST
Episode Notes: Learn creative ways to achieve your dreams for little or no money. You'll also learn how to travel the world for free!

What’s on your dream list?

Go skydiving…
Swim with dolphins…
Visit the world’s seven wonders…
Sleep under the stars…

Nothing exhilarates the soul more than accomplishing your hopes, your dreams, and your heart’s desire. There’s no time like the present to start making your dreams come true!

Ready to get started? Just follow these simple steps to make your dreams come true!

Step One: Dream List
To accomplish any feat, you first need to have a dream. Start by listing all your life dreams, from practical to fantastic. Include a due date to give yourself extra incentive, and check off accomplished dreams.
 
      Tip: Dream big! Pretend that you have all the money, time, and resources in the world, then let your imagination run wild. What would you do? Where would you go? Who would you meet?

Step Two: Take Action
Pick one dream to tackle first and make a plan. Map out the steps you need to take in order to achieve that specific dream. Then take it one step at a time.

Create a dream collage by collecting anything and everything related to your dream—magazine clippings, poems, drawings, photographs, quotes—and paste it all together. Add to and visit this page often to stay focused and motivated.

      Tip: Visit www.dreamlistonline.com, for a variety of products and services to help you along your journey, as well as inspirational tips, quotes, and stories to keep you motivated.

Step Three: Say Cheese
A picture speaks a thousand words, so be sure to keep a visual record of your accomplishments. Use the Dream List Photo Journals to compile all of the dreams you’ve made come true.

If you dreamed of walking the Great Wall of China, take a self portrait on the massive structure. Paste the photograph into your Dream List Photo Journal and write about your accomplished dream. What did you do? What was it like? How did it feel? Would you do it again?

      Tip: For a dash of inspiration, start by documenting dreams you’ve already accomplished. If you’ve made these one-time fantasies into realities, you can surely do it again!

Step Four: Celebrate, Share, and Pay It Forward
Before moving on to your next big dream, take a moment to let it all soak in. Breathe deeply, and enjoy the present. It takes courage, dedication, persistence, and hard work to make it to this point. Celebrate what you have accomplished!

Inspire others to follow their dreams by sharing your photo journal with them. (You may even find a helping hand for your next big dream.) This treasured keepsake can serve as a lasting legacy for your children, grandkids, or any loved ones.

      Tip: Revisit your dream list and photo journal often, so you never lose sight of your dreams. When you hit a road block, look at all your past achievements for a boost of confidence.

Most importantly, thank anyone who helped you along the way. Give thanks by giving back to your community or someone else in need. The more helping hands we can extend, the more dreams will come true!

… So what are you waiting for? Get your head in the clouds and start dreaming!

What is a dream collage?
A dream collage is a powerful tool to help visualize your dreams.  It’s a collage of photos, magazine clippings, drawings, words and anything else that relates to your individual dream.  The collage is meant to inspire, motivate and encourage you to achieve your dreams.

Materials Needed:
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Blank paper or poster board
• Magazines
• Computer and internet access

Step One:  Dream
Before you can begin, you need to reconnect with your dreams.  Start by making a dream list of all your dreams—both big and small. What do you want to do?  Where do you want to go?  What do you want to learn?  List anything and everything that comes to mind.

Step Two:  Plan
There are a variety of dream collages you can make.  You can create a collage of all your lifetime dreams, or if that’s too big you can narrow it down.  Some people make collages of their travel or adventure dreams, while others create collages for their family or business dreams. 

You also need to be aware of your dream collage size.  If you’re working with a large poster board, you will have plenty of room to display many dreams.  But if you’re pasting it into a small journal, then you may need to create a collage specific to a couple dreams.

Step Three:  Search
After you’ve decided on the size and type of dream collage you’re going to make, you need to begin your search for images, photos, words or anything else that relates to your dream.  I recommend clipping out images from magazines or catalogs to use in a collage.  You can also find many images online.  If you have certain words in mind, you can type them into a word document and print them out for later use.  For those who are a little more creative, draw or write a poem about your dream. 

Step Four:  Organize & Create
Now that everything is gathered, it’s time to organize your collage.  Before grabbing the glue stick, spread it all out on a table.  Then begin to arrange your collage with words and images overlapping each other, to make sure it all fits.  Once you have it organized, you can start gluing the pieces down.  Here is an example of a travel dream collage.

Step Five:  Enjoy
With your dream collage finished, take a moment to look at every detail.  Imagine yourself accomplishing those dreams.  If you dream of visiting Paris and you have an image of the Eiffel Tower, close your eyes and imagine yourself standing at the top overlooking the picturesque city. 

Place your collage in a location that you frequent often, like on your refrigerator or in a frame on your office desk.  It’s important to take a moment every now and then to enjoy it.  Let your dream collage motivate and inspire you to get out and accomplish your dreams.